But the man who prepares for everything with precision and perfection still can not plan for the unexpected. Halladay had never thrown a pitch in the postseason before Wednesday.

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On a cool, occasionally rainy late afternoon in South Philly, the first day of the Phillies 2010 postseason, Halladay had the best playoff debut in baseball history.

The 33-year-old right-hander was a walk away from a perfect game. Halladay pitched the second no-hitter in postseason history, a nine-inning masterpiece on the mound, to lead the Phillies to a 4-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.

The Phils enter Friday's Game 2 with a 1-0 series lead.

"It's hard to explain, but pitching a game like that, being able to win the game comes first; that's kind of your only focus until after it's over with," said Halladay, who was greeted to a standing ovation in the home clubhouse. "I think once it ends it's a little bit surreal to know (the history aspect).

"But the best part about it is when you're out there, your only job is to help your team try to win the game. And if you can keep that focus off of yourself, on the team, trying to help, it makes your job a lot easier."

The only other no-hitter in the history of the sport came 54 years ago, Oct. 8, 1956, when Don Larsen of the New York Yankees threw a perfect game in Game 5 of the World Series. Halladay, of course, checked the perfect game off his resume in May.

"When I came to the ballpark I could tell he was ready to go," said Carlos Ruiz, who also caught the perfect game against the Marlins May 29. "He was hitting his spots the whole time in the bullpen. He was on today, all day. It was great. I remember when we were in Florida, and it felt like the same thing."

Halladay added a new chapter to his legacy Wednesday, when he struck out eight batters, saw just four balls get hit to the outfield and faced one batter over the minimum. Including the regular season, Halladay has thrown two of the six no-hitters pitched in the big leagues this year.

"He's by far the best pitcher in the game ... I don't know who would ague against that," said Shane Victorino, who made history himself with a one-out double in the first, moving past Mike Schmidt for the most postseason hits in franchise history.

"A nice little pickup," joked Ryan Howard of the December trade that brought Halladay to Philadelphia after pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays for 12 years.

Halladay sent the Reds down in order in the first three innings, including a weak groundout of likely-MVP Joey Votto to end the first, an athletic catch by Jayson Werth on the hardest hit ball -- by Cincinnati pitcher Travis Wood -- to end the second, and a strikeout of former Phillie and series Public Enemy No.1 Scott Rolen.

After Halladay struck out four of five batters in a stretch between the fourth and fifth innings, the fever pitch in the sold-out, playoff-pumped stadium began to reach new heights. But even after he losing the perfect game bid when Jay Bruce worked a two-out walk in the fifth inning, Halladay sensed the bedlam going on around him, as he kept tacking zeroes onto the scoreboard.

"When it gets that loud, it's hard to ignore," Halladay said. "It seemed like it got louder every inning ... it was obviously one of the most electric atmospheres I've ever been in."

As he does with every home start, Halladay found a chair in the hallway between the dugout and the clubhouse. He watched the bottom half of every inning on a TV screen, including the first two frames when the Phils scored all four of their runs, keyed by two Victorino hits.

Halladay got up from his seat to hit in the bottom of the second and chipped in with an RBI single to left.

"Lucky," Halladay said afterward.

Halladay may have needed a little luck at the plate. On the mound, he went right at the Reds with the skill set that has made him one of the game's greats.

The Reds rarely came close to collecting a hit. Their best chance off Halladay may have been their last.

With two outs in the ninth inning, with white towels waving in unison and an ear-piercing buzz permeating through the ballpark, Brandon Phillips dribbled a swinging bunt in front of the plate. But the play began more than a routine tapper when it accidentally hit off the bat after it landed on the ground.

Ruiz scrambled to the ball. Phillips raced up the first base line.

"I figured he was going to get to it easy," Howard said. "And then he reached back a little bit into a weird position, like he was playing Twister, but he picked it up and made a great throw from his knees."

"Tough play, good runner," Halladay said. "But it couldn't happen to a better guy to have Carlos get the last out. It was fun and definitely an exciting way to end it."